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Victorino swinging a hot bat for Phils

Victorino swinging a hot bat for Phils

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ST. LOUIS -- Phillies fans these days are desperately awaiting the unknown return date of injured All-Stars Ryan Howard and Chase Utley to help pull their club out of the National League East cellar. But until that time, Shane Victorino is doing his part to pick up the slack.

Victorino is riding a six-game hitting streak entering Friday's game against the Cardinals in which he's batted .478 with four multihit games. During that stretch, he has five doubles and has struck out just once. He's raised his average from .229 on May 1, to .270.

"I'm doing nothing different than I did, it's just a matter of going out there and doing it," Victorino said on Friday. "It's just one of those things. Right now, everything seems to be clicking. I just have to keep finding it, keep working at it -- staying focused and working hard."

Victorino's one of the guys keeping the Phillies' offense afloat. But he feels any of the other guys in the clubhouse are capable of lifting the team on any given night.

However, the center fielder also thinks it's important that no one makes it a point to try and be the one guy to replace Howard or Utley's production.

"You don't want to add too much to your plate, meaning that those guys alone, their presence in the lineup, is a lot. They're great players. They're missed," Victorino said. "But, obviously, if you go out there and try to add things to your plate and try to pick up a lot of the load, instinctively, you kind of do things differently. You want to be the guy, and I think more than anything, you're just going out there, just staying focused and going out there and playing the best you can. I think that's what it's all about."